Lauderhill Lions roar in State Cup soccer

The Lauderhill Soccer Club, founded in 1979, has enjoyed tremendous success in youth and adult amateur leagues.

The one title that had eluded the Lions was the Florida State Soccer Association State Cup, but the long wait finally ended recently when the club's Over-40 Division squad traveled to Auburndale and had a 4-3 final-round victory over the two-time defending FSSA champion Slainte from Boca Raton.

The Lions, representing the Caribbean Americas Soccer Association and based at the Lauderhill Sports Complex, began their title quest in March and April, when the squad came away with 6-2 and 3-0 victories over Gulf Coast. That was followed by a 3-0 semifinal triumph over Carrollwood International of Tampa.

That set up the pivotal match against the reigning champions.

Lions striker Orrett Prendergast set the tone with two early goals to make it 2-0. Slainte was able to cut the deficit to 2-1 before Larkey Smith struck for the Lions. Slainte managed to trim the Lions' lead to 3-2, but Sertan Thompson scored to put Lauderhill back up by two (4-2). A late Slainte goal would prove too little, too late.

Samuel Joseph, Donald Ellis, Juan Ramos and Chris Simons spearheaded the Lions' defensive effort, while midfielders Sean Marshall, Warren Bloise and Anis Jerbi were able to control the tempo in the championship showdown. Goalie Jose Pepe Vallejo was solid and benefited from a solid defense.

Marshall, who served as the team's captain, has been a member of the Lions for 23 years.

"Many of us have been together for at least 20 years, and we have a very diversified group with seven different nationalities on the club," Marshall said. "This is a friendship that we have maintained over the years, and we always look out for one another. We have won many tournaments, but winning the State Cup was huge because we have made the finals and semifinals quite a few times, but came up just short. Every one of our 22 players contributed."

Prendergast played 1st Division in Austria for several years and was a member of Slainte's last two championship seasons. For this year's State Cup play, the talented striker stayed home to compete for the Lions, where he has a long history.

"I've been with the Lions since 1990, and I love playing with this group," Prendergast said. "I miss them every time I go away to play. It feels lovely to win because we won just about every other tournament championship."

The Lions, who have been coached by Keith Davis for the past 22 years, will next head to the national competition in Virginia Beach in August.